An awful lot of Earths may be out there

By Mark A. Garlick

Two astrophysicists have decided the race to detect an Earth-like planet outside our Solar System is taking too long. So, instead of scanning the skies, they have modelled all the planetary systems known so far to work out which could be hiding habitable planets. They conclude that around a quarter of these are capable of harbouring other Earths, a much higher proportion than anyone expected.

Since 1995, astronomers have unveiled dozens of planets orbiting nearby Sun-like stars. Current methods can only detect gas giants like Jupiter but life, at least in the form that we know …

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